New issue of Music & Copyright with Indonesia country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

SPECIAL FOCUS: IFPI reports a ninth consecutive year of increased recorded-music trade sales
The international music trade body, the IFPI, has detailed another positive set of results for the global recorded-music sector. Digital and physical trade sales, along with performance rights and synchronization income, were up in 2023 for the third successive year. Streaming was again cited by the IFPI as the main growth provider, with combined revenue from subscriptions and audio and video advertising generating slightly more than two-thirds of global trade sales. The number of paid subscription accounts exceeded 600 million for the first time, with the net number of additions last year 12 million up on the total in 2022. Vinyl maintained its renaissance while CD sales also increased. Sub-Saharan Africa registered the highest growth rate of the seven regions detailed, followed by Latin America and then Asia.

NEWS FEATURE: National recorded-music trade and retail sales in 2023
To compliment the IFPI global results, Music & Copyright has pulled together all of the national trade and retail sales figures published by the leading markets’ trade groups. Countries included in this issue’s analysis include the US, Japan, the UK, Germany, France, Brazil, Australia, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Finland, South Africa, and Hungary.

COMPANY ANALYSIS: Rising recorded-music, publishing, and merchandising sales boost UMG revenue to record high
UMG ended its 2023 financial year in a positive style, with increased subscriptions and higher sales of physical formats boosting the recorded-music total, and a good performance from streaming, synchronization, and mechanicals contributing to a rise in publishing receipts. Recorded-music revenue from subscriptions topped €1bn ($1.1bn) in each quarter, while sales of physical formats were up year-on-year throughout 2023. Moreover, licensing finished the year on a high, with sales in the quarter breaking new records. Music publishing benefited from the continued growth in the popularity of streaming, and all four main publishing sectors registered double-digit annual gains. In addition to its financials, UMG also confirmed that its previously announced strategic organizational redesign is expected to generate €250m in annual savings by 2026 through a combination of headcount reduction and several other operational efficiencies.

COUNTRY REPORT: Indonesia
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Indonesia music industry report. Indonesia is the fourth most populous country in the world, behind India, China, and the US: the country ended 2023 with 277.5 million inhabitants. Despite its large population, Indonesia has always massively underperformed as a recorded-music market, with the legal sector long struggling to gain a foothold because of persistently high piracy rates. However, music streaming’s success around the world is more than rubbing off in Indonesia, with a mixture of services now available offering access to several million local and international recordings. The collection of royalties has also changed. In 2019, the government and the different collective management organizations agreed on a one-stop-shop administration, with a single agency given the authority to collect and distribute royalties from commercial music users. The live sector suffered a couple of bad years because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to control the spread of the virus. However, following a sharp fall in ticket sales in 2020, some live performances resumed at the end of 2021. A more than doubling of ticket sales the following year saw the total return to prepandemic levels.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Times get tougher for emerging artists, but there’s power in the fan base
Emerging artists are having a harder time than ever at the start of this new year. Apple Music, Spotify, and Deezer have all tweaked their payment models in ways that mean those who generate few streams get less, or in some cases, nothing at all. However, it’s not all doom and gloom, and some financial easing could be on the way in the form of new musician-focused legislation. In addition, superfans present an opportunity, while tech innovation could ease the burden of running a one-person music business.

NEWS FEATURE: US Internet Archive hits back in Great 78 Project copyright infringement dispute
The Internet Archive in the US, its creator, and a renowned audio engineer have hit back against copyright infringement claims made by a group of record labels. The claims included infringement of reproduction rights, distribution, and the unlicensed public performance of classic works. The alleged infringements were carried out as part of the Great 78 Project, which was set up by the archive to preserve old 78-rpm recordings. The project digitizes the records and makes them available to download and stream for free on the archive’s website. The archive said in a motion to dismiss that most of the alleged infringements should be ruled inadmissible because the record labels left it too long to make their claim.

COMPANY ANALYSIS: Markets impressed by Spotify’s latest results and prospects for the current year
Music streaming service Spotify has published its fourth-quarter and full-year results for the 2023 financial year. Total revenue for the three-month period was in line with the guidance provided with the third-quarter results, while the number of monthly average users (MAUs) and premium subscribers added in the quarter exceeded the service’s expectations. The city reacted positively to the news and Spotify’s market cap is now at its highest level for two years. There is, however, the issue of losses. The service has made such a great play in recent months that it is looking to become a consistently profitable business. However, despite a reduction in net losses in the quarter, the service has still not registered an annual profit since it was launched commercially some 18 years ago.

COUNTRY REPORT: US
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed US music industry report. The US is the biggest music market in the world. Each year, the country accounts for more than one-third of the total global recorded-music trade sales and approximately 40% of spending on tickets to live music events. Furthermore, the US is home to the single-biggest live music promoter, Live Nation Entertainment, as well as the two leading performers’ rights organizations (PROs), ASCAP and BMI, and the biggest performance rights organization, SoundExchange. In addition to leading the music world, the US is also the world’s biggest economy, with total GDP last year topping $25.4tn. In December, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said GDP increased 3.3% in the final quarter of last year compared with quarter three. Year-on-year GDP in the last three months grew 3.1%.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Austria country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

SPECIAL FOCUS: Fall in global performance rights distributions, but growth expected to return this year
Performance rights distributions to record companies (producers) and performers were down in 2022 after rising for two straight years. Moreover, the total slipped just below the $3bn mark, having first reached the milestone in 2018. Despite the dip, several mitigating circumstances suggest that a return to growth is likely for 2023. Exchange rates affected last year’s figures, with the US dollar strengthening against most currencies. Also, advanced payments made by some societies to limit the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on members have resulted in misleading year-on-year performance comparisons. Producers’ and performers’ rights have become an important source of income in recent years, given the long period of demise of recorded-music trade revenue. The return to growth through increased consumer interest in streaming and subscriptions has somewhat overshadowed the importance of performance rights, but the revenue source remains a key earnings generator.

NEWS FEATURE: Published national sales and consumption results point to a positive year for global recorded-music sales
Most of the world’s major recorded-music markets and one or two other smaller ones have now published midyear results detailing the sector’s performance in the first six months of this year. Music & Copyright’s annual assessment of the results suggests that global recorded-music trade revenue from the sale of physical and digital recorded-music and income from music access services is set to register a ninth straight year of growth. Moreover, the size of the rise is expected to be up on the growth rate seen last year. Although the US saw a slight dip in the growth rate for retail sales at the midpoint of 2023, Japan, the UK, Germany, and France have all seen higher rises. Moreover, despite Italy and Spain registering a slowdown, sales were still in double-digit percentage points.

SECTOR ANALYSIS: Music collides with gaming but needs to push to take center stage
Music continues to make a play across multiple gaming platforms, with headliner Ed Sheeran this month making his debut on Fortnite with iHeartRadio on the media group’s iHeartLand experience. Robbie Williams is also set to bow virtually before the end of the year on the newly developed LightCycle destination. K-pop girl act TWICE has launched a fan hub on Roblox, giving fans the opportunity to chat to band members, while Coachella has taken the festival franchise virtual on Fortnite. However, in many of these music-gaming initiatives, music is playing second fiddle to minigames and digital merch. To take full advantage, music outfits need to make greater efforts to put their content center stage.

COUNTRY REPORT: Austria
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Austria music industry report.
Austria is one of Europe’s smaller music markets. Although well-developed, the country has a modest per capita spending rate on music, trailing the leading markets by some way. Moreover, Austria could be described as one of Western Europe’s laggards when it comes to the transition from physical formats to digital. Like its bigger neighbor to the north, Germany, which plays host to a large sector of consumers that have long been wedded to the CD album, physical formats accounted for the biggest share of spending on recorded-music in Austria until 2018. However, digital has quickly increased in dominance, with streaming now easily the biggest revenue generator for local record companies. Authors’ rights collections in the country returned to growth in 2022 after two straight years of decline. Performance rights receipts for producers and performers registered the biggest increase since 2017, although the total remains just short of prepandemic levels.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with South Korea country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

SPECIAL FOCUS – Streaming gains set to boost music publishing revenue to new record highs
Music publishing is a sector of the music industry that sits somewhere between recorded-music and live performance. While in recent years, publishing has benefited from the rise of subscriptions and streaming, the sector also suffered from COVID-19–related national lockdowns and the wider hit to all things performance-based. For the last two years, publishing revenue has risen sharply. However, comparing one year to the next can be slightly misleading given the number of one-offs that can affect music publishers’ performance. While global publishing revenue is expected to increase again this year, the size of the rise is forecast to be more modest. Moreover, for the next five years, the annual rises will be in single-digit percentages. However, in compound annual growth rate (CAGR) terms, publishing is expected to just edge recorded-music.

NEWS FEATURE: AKM licensing revenue returns to growth after two years of decline
Austrian authors’ society AKM has registered its first increase in rights collections since 2019. In common with most other collective management organizations in Europe, performance receipts in 2020 and 2021 suffered from COVID-19–related restrictions on consumer movements. However, last year saw a return to growth, with public performance and live music registering sharp gains. Domestic receipts outperformed collections from overseas, although the latter suffered from longer processing times, and so should register extra growth next year. Broadcasting revenue was up, but digital registered a slight dip despite the positive year for streaming in Austria. Mechanical rights society Austro Mechana (AUME) had a flat year overall, as gains for broadcasting and digital were offset by a fall in private copying collections and income from audio products.

SECTOR ANALYSIS: Now is the time for Spotify to scale back on scaling up
Spotify is pretty much the global poster child for music streaming and recently posted strong user numbers for the second quarter of its 2023 financial year. The company has, since launch, focused on building a large user base to monetize. Spotify now boasts over half a billion listeners but believes this isn’t scale enough and wants to sign up even more customers. However, with losses of more than €4bn ($4.3bn) and mounting, the service should be trying to turn a profit. That means instituting a regime of regular price hikes and segmenting its audience to develop a range of tiered offerings.

COUNTRY REPORT: South Korea
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed South Korea music industry report. South Korea’s recorded-music industry is widely considered the most advanced in the world. Since the turn of the century, the sector has been through a massive transformation, from being almost overrun by piracy to becoming multifaceted, with both physical and digital formats and services flourishing. One of South Korea’s unique features is the healthy position for CD album sales. The format remains popular among consumers despite the rise of digital access. Sales of music subscriptions registered healthy growth last year, along with trade income from advertising-supported audio and video services. Korean-produced music continues to grow in popularity worldwide, and several K-pop bands have scored major chart success away from their home market. Local music groups dominate recorded-music distribution, with the major labels accounting for a low market share. Last year, collections for the authors’ society KOMCA hit a new record. Also, member payouts were the highest ever for the society.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with US country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

Rise in UK music piracy rates as more consumers supplement legal supply with unlicensed access
While the recorded-music sector continues to see growth in sales from music streaming, piracy still lurks in the background. Not so long ago, easy access to a wealth of unlicensed recorded-music content resulted in trade sales worldwide nosediving. However, the rollout of high-speed internet and the advent of streaming turned recorded-music fortunes around. However, a small number of consumers continue to use illegal means to get their music fix. In February, the UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) published the results of its latest survey into consumers’ piracy habits across a number of different entertainment sectors. For music, the results were mixed. Almost no consumers were found to be using unlicensed streaming services, but fewer downloaders were sourcing their content from just legal services.

Apple Music gets streaming traction by not being Spotify
Having just seen Spotify’s latest set of quarterly results, we know quite a lot about the world’s largest international music streamer. However, getting metrics on rival outfit Apple Music is a tough task, given that it’s part of the world’s most valuable company and its contribution to a business dominated by iPhone sales is pretty small. But it’s clear that Apple Music is growing steadily and that it is offering a differentiated service to Spotify’s. It needs to continue developing that differentiation to maintain its trajectory while its rival continues to pile the subscribers high. And that shouldn’t be difficult given the breadth of services available to it at the Apple stable.

PRS, LIVENow, and the business of responsible livestreaming licensing
Livestreaming came into its own during the COVID-19 lockdowns, and the segment has become a multibillion-dollar business able to boast large audiences. Some of the biggest audio streaming services are seeing the value of adding video performances to their offerings and are leaning on live concerts both as a marketing tool and as a new revenue stream. However, in common with any form of streaming, the correct licenses are required if rights-holder content is involved. The livestreaming platform LIVENow has fallen foul of licensing requirements and has been taken to task over the problem by the UK authors’ society PRS For Music. Howard Ricklow, a partner at law firm Collyer Bristow and specializing in intellectual property matters, has kindly provided Music & Copyright with his thoughts on the dispute, what the current system is for licensing content from an artist for livestreamed concerts, and what the future is likely to be for hybrid content like livestreamed concerts.

US country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed US music industry report. The US is easily the biggest music market in the world. Each year, the country accounts for more than one-third of the total global recorded-music trade sales and approximately 40% of spending on tickets to live music events. Furthermore, the US is home to the single-biggest live music promoter, Live Nation Entertainment, as well as the two leading performers’ rights organizations (PROs), ASCAP and BMI, and the biggest performance rights organization, SoundExchange. In addition to leading the music world, the US is also the world’s biggest economy, with total GDP last year topping $25tn. In December, the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) said GDP increased 2.9% in the final quarter of last year compared with quarter three. Year-on-year GDP in the last three months grew 1%. The BEA commented that the GDP gains primarily reflected increases in inventory investment and consumer spending that were partly offset by a decrease in housing investment.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with India country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

Shining a critical light on the maturing music-streaming sector
So far in January, the usual suspects have published early recorded-music results for 2022. In all cases, streaming has been the big growth provider, with gains more than offsetting declines of buy-to-own formats. Although the revival of vinyl has mostly continued, growth at a national or international level is now all about subscriptions and advertising. While the next couple of months will see more industry performance releases in the run-up to the IFPI’s assessment of global trade sales, those releases will show that streaming revenue growth rates are slowing. Moreover, it’s a safe bet that national trade associations that include subscriber estimates in their year-end roundups will also show a rates decline. Admittedly it is a little early in the year for bad news, but the reality is the boom in streaming is over. The high growth rates of a few years ago will not be repeated. The industry must also face up to the real possibility that emerging and developed markets may not keep the global growth momentum going.

UPRS annual report illustrates the difficulties of rights collection in Uganda
Ugandan authors’ society Uganda Performing Right Society (UPRS) has published its annual report for 2022, detailing the workings of the society in the year just gone, along with limited collection results and revenue forecasts for the next few years. Few African collective management organizations (CMOs) provide much of an insight into their business activities. However, the UPRS report offers a candid assessment of the difficulties experienced in collecting royalties owed, convincing local artists and songwriters to sign up to the CMO system, and making music users pay royalties for the use of UPRS members’ works. COVID-19 and the impact of a lengthy lockdown in Uganda greatly affected rights collections in the last couple of years, but UPRS is confident that going forward, the society will be able to convince music users of their obligations to pay royalties and generate record collections for its members.

WMG looks to tech to do the work in an entertainment future
WMG is, unlike its peers, making a name for itself as a music technology pioneer. The major music group has been busy building relationships with a variety of tech partners across a range of innovative activities, among them blockchain, nonfungible tokens (NFTs), digital collectibles, and metaverse real estate. In addition, WMG has managed to put together an executive team with strong tech creds and experience with successful tech entertainment brands such as YouTube, Netflix, and Blizzard. The record company’s embrace of new technologies in an industry that has long viewed innovation as an existential threat could serve it well in an increasingly virtual world—if it can stitch together the disparate parts of its tech play.

India country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed India music industry report. India is the second most populous country in the world, behind China. The size of the population exceeded 1.4 billion for the first time last year, while the number of households topped the 300-million mark. According to the most recent United Nations projections, India will overtake global leader China before the end of this decade, with the country’s population expected to peak at 1.7 billion in 2064. Moreover, by 2050, India will account for close to 20% of the rise in the world’s working-age population (15–64-year-olds). However, despite accounting for almost one-fifth of the world’s population, India’s different music industry sectors have always underperformed. Recorded-music sales have long been hindered by widespread music piracy, and rights collections have suffered from adverse legal rulings and a lack of licensing. The live sector struggles with infrastructure shortcomings, and more recently, the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite the problems, there are signs that the world’s biggest emerging market is living up to its billing. In the last few years, retail sales of recorded-music have been on the up, and rights collections have benefited greatly from a deal between authors’ society IPRS and Google for music use by YouTube. Live music remains the problem sector, with concert tours and festivals only starting to get back on track.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Italy country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

Digital gains are set to boost music revenue, but publishing growth is on track to outshine recorded-music
All the world’s major recorded-music markets and one or two other smaller ones have published midyear trade figures. Music & Copyright’s annual assessment of the results suggests global recorded-music trade earnings from the sale of physical and digital recorded-music and income from music access services are set to register an eighth straight year of growth. However, the size of the rise is expected to be around half the growth rate seen last year. Music publishing is forecast to experience a bumper year, with global revenue expected to hit record levels. All the main publishing revenue streams will increase, but digital will be the star performer. Also, performance income will return to growth after three consecutive years of decline.

Polish authors’ society ZAiKS reports a year of hope in challenging times
Polish authors’ society ZAiKS has confirmed a return to growth in collections having reported its first fall in rights receipts in 2020 for five years. Total revenue in that year suffered from the effects of the government’s efforts to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus, with performance-based income streams hit the hardest. While the virus still impacted some collection sources, public performance receipts rose sharply, with big increases in revenue from online and private copying. Broadcasting income was up year on year, although the revenue source as a share of total receipts was down slightly. Digital registered another jump in collections, with income benefiting from the continued rise in the popularity of streaming in Poland. Distributions took a tumble, while costs were flat and the society’s administration rate was down.

The time is right for music to make its gaming play
The music business is becoming ever more enmeshed with the world of gaming. One of the leading protagonists is Amazon through its Amazon Music and Twitch gaming properties that the e-commerce and online giant is increasingly deploying as part of its cross-entertainment strategy. On the gaming side, Epic Games’ Fortnite title has been something of a pioneer in bringing music performances to large audiences of gamers—and it has ambitious plans to remain on the front line. Also in the mix is Spotify, which this year became the first music streamer to make moves on Fortnite. What’s needed now is something more innovative than the in-game concert—and immersive customization could be the vital component here.

Italy country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Italy music industry report. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy’s recorded-music sector had experienced an erratic few years, largely due to the lingering dominance of physical formats. However, digital trade sales overtook physical formats in 2018, with a sharp rise in subscription sales more than offsetting falls in CD album sales and vinyl. The pattern of sales continued into 2019, but the toll on physical formats and performance rights in 2020 resulted in a flat year overall. Last year saw sales bounce back strongly, and so far this year, the gains from streaming and viny have continued. UMG remains the clear leader in market share terms, ahead of SME and WMG. All the majors took share from the independent sector. After suffering a sharp fall in collections in 2020, revenue for the local authors’ society SIAE returned to growth in 2021. However, the total remains a long way short of prepandemic levels. Ticket sales to live music events picked up in 2021, but it will take another few years before sales top the record highs of 2019.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Netherlands country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

Increase in global performance rights distributions, with further growth expected for this year
Performance rights distributions to record companies (producers) and performers increased in 2021 for the second year in a row. A fall in 2019 saw payments slip below the $3bn mark after reaching the milestone for the first time in 2018. Last year saw global performance rights distributions top the $3bn mark again, with forecasts of more growth to come for this year. Producers’ and performers’ rights have become an important source of income in recent years, given the long period of demise of recorded-music trade revenue. The return to growth through increased consumer interest in streaming and subscriptions has somewhat overshadowed the importance of performance rights, but the revenue source remains a key earnings generator.

Streaming and vinyl are the midyear positives in a slowing French recorded-music sector
French music trade group SNEP has reported a positive first six months for recorded-music sales. Although revenue from physical formats suffered a decline after rising sharply last year, SNEP said the resurgence of vinyl had continued. Moreover, despite a fall in CDs, the format was still the second-biggest income source for local music companies. Audio subscriptions added the most extra to the midyear trade total, but it was video streaming that registered the biggest rise. The overall number of streams served in the six months was up, but it was paid subscribers that drove the increase, with the number of advertising-supported streams served largely unchanged. SNEP noted that the cost-of-living crisis in France has not impacted music sales so far, but the trade group was continuing to monitor the situation.

Stock music’s stock rises as the creator economy expands
Royalty-free, or production, music is a big business and worth around $1bn a year in revenue. Demand is rising steeply, thanks in large part to the burgeoning use of social video online. This has led to the launch of a raft of startups seeking to provide custom, rights-free sounds for a monthly subscription. A small number of providers have cut through and are leading the way, but the space is a little bit too overpopulated. There has already been some consolidation, but more is on the way, especially as major international investment firms are now also in the mix. Stock music suppliers also need to look beyond the creator economy for revenue and deploy technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) to boost their offerings.

Netherlands country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Netherlands music industry report. After more than a decade of falling trade revenue from recorded-music sales, the Netherlands has experienced a sustained period of growth. In common with most developed markets in Europe, Dutch record company earnings were hit by the effects of online piracy as a result of the shift from physical formats to digital. However, for the last seven years, trade revenue has been on the up and further growth is expected for this year and beyond. Digital accounted for more than 80% of the combined digital/physical trade revenue last year. UMG suffered a dip in its distributor share, with SME and WMG both making gains. However, UMG’s share remained double that of its closest rivals. Combined collections for the Dutch authors’ societies BUMA and STEMRA edged up last year, after registering the first fall since 2011. Gains for STEMRA just offset BUMA’s decline, with live receipts suffering a second year of sharp decline as a result of the slow recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 also affected total receipts for producers’ and performers’ society SENA, which were down year on year.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with UK country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

US CRB affirms Phonorecords III rates but offers streaming services total cost and bundling gains
The long-running dispute between US rights holders and digital music streaming services over mechanical rates payable for the five years between 2018 and 2022 (Phonorecords III) is almost over. At the beginning of 2018, the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) increased the overall percentage of revenue paid to songwriters by streaming services over the five years by 43.8% from 10.5% for the 2012–17 period (Phonorecords II). The rate was set to rise annually and would only reach 15.1% in 2022. However, Spotify, Amazon, Google, and Pandora appealed the ruling, and the rate increase was put on hold. Now, the CRB has confirmed that the rates will apply. Although the decision is a win for authors and publishers, the CRB decided not to change the total content cost (TCC) and bundle definitions and reverted back to the Phonorecords II levels.

Despite ongoing COVID-19 impact, broadcast and digital gains boost SGAE collections
Spanish authors’ society SGAE has published its annual accounts for 2021 after receiving approval from its membership at the June annual general meeting. Total collections were up for the first time since 2018. Although SGAE noted in its report that the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact its results, most performance-based revenue streams returned to growth after suffering sharp falls in 2020. Broadcasting registered the biggest rise of all the main collection sources, with backdated receipts boosting the total. Digital income was up year-on-year, and there were notable gains for on-demand audio and video streaming. Distributions to SGAE members were flat, with domestic payments edging up and monies sent overseas falling. SGAE signed four new representation agreements in 2021. The Spanish society now manages the repertoire of 173 collective management organizations in around 180 countries.

Brands push deeper into music, and now metaverse marketing beckons
Suddenly, leading brands seem to be in the business of releasing albums, with Pokémon and Mastercard making great play of their new recorded-music offerings as part of wider marketing campaigns. Pokémon looks to have cut through with its drop—it’s too soon to assess Mastercard’s album performance—and that may well spur the release of further branded musical offerings. Also, there’s more music industry appetite to work with brands to further monetize content. UMG’s partnerships unit has just launched the UMusic Media Network, offering music for brands to work with, following a similar service rollout from indie distributor UnitedMasters that has already attracted big-hitter Diageo. And while music-brand alliances have long been many and varied, the metaverse is as yet unchartered territory for such partnerships. IHeartMedia clearly believes that’s the case, while WMG really ought to leverage its early-mover position in the virtual world and bring brands onboard.

UK country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed UK music industry report. The UK is the world’s third-largest recorded-music market. Earlier this year, the IFPI said the country maintained its global ranking despite a strong performance by fourth-placed Germany. In common with many other developed markets around the world that suffered from the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, certain sectors of the UK music industry were badly affected. Live music is only now beginning to recover after an 18-month hiatus, while performance-based rights collections took a hit but are now bouncing back. Recorded-music sales held up well, with higher revenue from streaming and vinyl offsetting performance rights and synchronization declines. Last year saw recorded-music trade sales benefit from rising sales of all formats apart from downloads. Furthermore, performance rights and synchronization returned to growth. Digital now generates close to 70% of recorded-music trade sales. UMG maintained its distribution lead over second-placed SME.

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New issue of Music & Copyright with Japan country report

The latest issue of Music & Copyright is now available for subscribers to download. Here are some of the highlights.

Global music market set to double in value, with streaming and live the big growth providers
US investment bank Goldman Sachs has published its latest set of forecasts for the global music industry. In what can only be described as eyewatering numbers, the bank is expecting major growth for the recorded-music, music publishing, and live music sectors. Forecasts for the global total in all years have been raised from the previous estimations published 12 months ago. Streaming gains are set to boost the recorded-music and publishing totals, with growth driven by volume, price, and emerging platforms. Despite the current economic problems, Goldman Sachs believes music streaming will be able to weather any downturn. The bank also sees the digital distribution landscape as competitive, with no one service dominating. Although Spotify is the global leader, the Swedish service is set to lose market share to services currently on the up, such as YouTube Music and Tencent Music Entertainment. Live music is set for a major bounce back after almost two years of disruption, with total revenue for the sector this year almost back to prepandemic levels.

Erratic annual performance for SABAM continues, with growth at home but declining overseas income
Belgian authors’ society SABAM has reported a return to growth for collections, with several of the performance-based revenue streams improving after a year beset by COVID-19 restrictions and sector closures. Broadcasting income increased, but it was background music that recorded the biggest bounce back as receipts rose sharply. Despite the popularity of music streaming in Belgium, digital income was down. However, the dip was caused by an adjustment to previous years’ income accounted for in 2021. Live suffered a second year of tumbling collections, although the rate of decline slowed significantly. Mechanicals benefited from physical formats’ sharp rise in sales. However, the time gap between money in and money out meant distributions were down last year, as payments were based on collections made in the first year of the pandemic.

DIY music needs a dose of creativity, both from artists and distributors
The withdrawal from the do-it-yourself (DIY) music space by two music business big hitters could be taken as a sign that the independent recorded-music scene is flagging. That’s not the case, however, with the likes of TuneCore, DistroKid, and CD Baby still offering what are proving to be essential platforms for up-and-coming artists. And recent changes to pricing should make it easier for musicians to develop new release strategies that make the most of their recorded output. However, it would be great to see these services create more new features that could squeeze greater value out of recordings, as it remains just as difficult for most unsigned artists to make a living from their music.

Japan country report
In addition to the usual set of music industry statistics and news briefs, the latest issue of Music & Copyright includes a detailed Japan music industry report. Of all the world’s leading recorded-music markets, Japan has arguably been the most erratic, with some sizable differences in annual performance. Looking back over the last 10 years or so, trade revenue from recorded-music sales has been inconsistent, with one or two years of growth followed by a couple of years of decline. However, despite record company income from physical formats continuing to be unpredictable, the digital sector has stabilized. Moreover, following a lengthy reliance on downloads, the subscription sector now generates around three quarters of the total digital revenue for the local industry.

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